Monitoring process

ABSTRACT

A monitoring system includes at least one processor device and at least one memory architecture coupled with the at least one processor device. The monitoring system includes a first software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the first software module is configured to monitor one or more sensor(s), wherein the one or more sensor(s) are configured to collect personally identifiable information, wherein the personally identifiable information pertains to a monitored individual and enables the monitored individual to be uniquely identified. The monitoring system also includes a second software module executed by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the second software module is configured to enable a wireless transmitter to transmit a report on the monitored individual.

RELATED CASES

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/130,506, filed on 15 Apr. 2016, entitledMONITORING PROCESS which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/148,262 filed on 16 Apr. 2015, entitled SMARTPHONEMONITORING PROCESS, the contents of which are all incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to monitoring systems, and more particularly tothe electronic supervision of high-risk individuals.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide a discussion of the related art, andto facilitate an understanding of various technologies described herein.That such art is related in no way implies that it is prior art. Itshould therefore be understood that the statements in this section areto be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Electronic monitoring devices have long been used to monitor high-riskindividuals, such as sex offenders, in some states. Some states haverecently have included, and/or are considering including other high riskindividuals such as, gang members, domestic abusers, Driving under theinfluence (DUI) offenders etc. These electronic monitoring devices havebeen application specific devices, such as ankle bracelets that requirephysically intruding on a subject's body around the clock, which someindividuals contend may be an unconstitutional search under the FourthAmendment. Further, these electronic monitoring devices also requireregular charging, and thereby prolonged periods wherein the electronicmonitoring device, and thereby the monitored individual, must be pluggedinto a wall outlet. A need therefore exists for a more efficient systemof monitoring high-risk individuals.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In a first embodiment, a monitoring method includes monitoring one ormore sensor(s), wherein the one or more sensor(s) are configured tocollect personally identifiable information, wherein the personallyidentifiable information pertains to a monitored individual, and enablesthe monitored individual to be uniquely identified. The one or moresensor(s) include a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) sensor. Themonitoring method also includes enabling a wireless transmitter totransmit a progress report on the monitored individual.

One or more of the following features may be included. The personallyidentifiable information may include biometric data, and the biometricmay include one or more of a deoxyribonucleic (DNA) analysis, an earlobegeometry analysis, a facial recognition analysis, a fingerprintanalysis, a hand geometry analysis, an eye patterns analysis, asignature analysis, and a voice waveform analysis. The one or moresensor(s) may include a camera, and the camera may be configured tocapture a real-time image of the monitored individual, wherein thereal-time image may be personally identifiable information. Themonitoring method may also include comparing the real-time image of themonitored individual with a reference image of the monitored individual.The monitoring method may also include recording the real-time image ofthe monitored individual. The monitoring method may also include storingpersonally identifiable information. The progress report on themonitored individual may be periodically transmitted, randomlytransmitted, transmitted based upon a sensor output or an alert,transmitted in response to a prompt from the monitoring network or atthe initiation of the monitored individual. The monitoring method mayalso include generating a personal passcode. The monitoring method mayalso include prompting the monitored individual for the personalpasscode. The monitoring method may also include determining themonitored individual's compliance with one or more monitoredrequirements, wherein the monitored requirements include one or more ofan abstinence requirement, a curfew requirement, a probationrequirement, compliance with a protection order, compliance with a courtorder, compliance with a self-medication requirement, compliance withone or more geographical constraints, attendance of one or moreself-help meetings, attendance at one or more court hearings, attendanceat one or more probation officer meetings, and one or more individualproximity restrains. The monitoring method may also includeadministering a reward system, wherein the reward system is configuredto modify one or more reporting requirements by the monitoredindividual.

In another embodiment, a monitoring method includes monitoring one ormore sensor(s), wherein the one or more sensor(s) are configured tocollect personally identifiable information, wherein the personallyidentifiable information pertains to a monitored individual and enablesthe monitored individual to be uniquely identified. The personallyidentifiable information may include location data. The monitoringmethod also includes enabling a wireless transmitter to transmit aprogress report on the monitored individual.

One or more of the following features may be included. The location datamay include one or more of Global Positioning System (GPS) data, Wi-Fiaccess point identification information, cell phone tower identificationinformation, wherein the location data is Assisted Global PositioningSystem (A-GPS) data. The one or more sensor(s) may include a camera,wherein the camera is configured to capture a real-time image of themonitored individual, wherein the real-time image is personallyidentifiable information. The method may also include comparing thereal-time image of the monitored individual with a reference image ofthe monitored individual. The method may also include recording thereal-time image of the monitored individual. The method may also includestoring personally identifiable information. The progress report on themonitored individual may be periodically transmitted, randomlytransmitted, transmitted based upon a sensor output or an alert,transmitted based upon a predefined schedule, transmitted in response toa prompt from a monitoring network or at the initiation of the monitoredindividual. The monitoring method may also include generating a personalpasscode. The monitoring method may also include prompting the monitoredindividual for the personal passcode. The monitoring method may alsoinclude determining the monitored individual's compliance with one ormore monitored requirements. The monitored requirements may include oneor more of an abstinence requirement, a curfew requirement, a probationrequirement, compliance with a protection order, compliance with a courtorder, compliance with a self-medication requirement, compliance withone or more geographical constraints, attendance of one or moreself-help meetings, attendance at one or more court hearings, attendanceat one or more probation officer meetings, and one or more individualproximity restrains. The method may also include administering a rewardsystem, wherein the reward system is configured to modify one or morereporting requirements by the monitored individual.

In another embodiment, a monitoring system includes as least oneprocessor device and at least one memory architecture coupled with theat least one processor device. The monitoring system includes a firstsoftware module executable by the at least one processor and the atleast one memory architecture, wherein the first software module isconfigured to monitor one or more sensor(s), wherein the one or moresensor(s) are configured to collect personally identifiable information,wherein the personally identifiable information pertains to a monitoredindividual and enables the monitored individual to be uniquelyidentified. The monitoring system also includes a second software moduleexecuted by the at least one processor and the at least one memoryarchitecture, wherein the second software module is configured to enablea wireless transmitter to transmit a report on the monitored individual.

One or more of the following features may be included. The personallyidentifiable information may include biometric data, and the biometricmay include one or more of a DNA analysis, an earlobe geometry analysis,a facial recognition analysis, a fingerprint analysis, a hand geometryanalysis, a iris and a retina patterns analysis, a signature analysisand a voice waveform analysis. The personally identifiable informationmay include location data, and the location data may include one or moreof Global Positioning System (GPS) data, Wi-Fi access pointidentification information, cell phone tower identification information,wherein the location data is Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS)data. The one or more sensor(s) may include a camera, and the camera maybe configured to capture a real-time image of the monitored individual,and the real-time image may be personally identifiable information. Themonitoring system may also include a third software module executable bythe at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture,wherein the third software module is configured to compare the real-timeimage of the monitored individual with a reference image of themonitored individual. The monitoring system may also include a fourthsoftware module executable by the at least one memory architecture,wherein the fourth software module is configured to record the real-timeimage of the monitored individual. The monitoring system may alsoinclude a fifth software module executable by the at least one processorand the at least one memory architecture, wherein the fifth softwaremodule is configured to store personally identifiable information. Themonitoring system may also include a sixth software module executable bythe at least one memory architecture, wherein the sixth software modulemay be configured to determine the monitored individual's compliancewith one or more monitored requirements, wherein the monitoredrequirements include one or more of an abstinence requirement, a curfewrequirement, a probation requirement, compliance with a protectionorder, compliance with a court order, compliance with a self-medicationrequirement, compliance with one or more geographical constraints,attendance of one or more self-help meetings, attendance at one or morecourt hearings, attendance at one or more probation officer meetings,and one or more individual proximity restrains. The monitoring systemmay further include a wristlet tether, wherein the wristlet tether mayinclude a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) sensor. The BAC sensor maybe a Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) sensor. The monitoring system mayfurther include a body temperature sensor. The wristlet tether mayinclude a biosensor.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbecome apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of various techniques directed to a method, system, orapparatus relating to the monitoring of high-risk individuals, willhereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Itshould be understood, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrateonly the various embodiments described herein, and are not meant tolimit the scope of the various techniques described herein.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring processcoupled to a distributed computing network, according to one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an illustrative flowchart of the monitoring process of FIG. 1,according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring application,according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring applicationpasscode prompt interface, according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of monitoring applicationcheck-in interface, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of monitoring applicationvideo check-in prompt, according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a real-time image of themonitored individual compared to a reference image of the monitoredindividual, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a web based monitoringapplication check-in scheduler, according to one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a web based monitoringapplication summary page, according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a web based monitoringapplication geographical restriction scheduler page, according to one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a web based monitoringapplication geographical tracking summary page, according to one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a one or moregeographical constraints associated with a monitoring application,according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring applicationprogress report, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring applicationviolation email report, according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 15 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring calendarinterface, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 16 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring applicationpayment interface, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 17 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a monitoring applicationlocation and resource interface, according to one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 18 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a wristlet tether,according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings may indicate likeelements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION System Overview:

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in FIGS. 1-18. The presentdisclosure may, however, be implemented in many different forms andshould not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forthherein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosurewill be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of thedisclosure to those skilled in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 18, there is shown a client monitoringprocess that may reside on and/or be executed by a microprocessor(s)(not shown) that may be executed by one or more client electronicdevices (e.g., client electronic devices 28, 30, 32 and/or 34,respectfully). Examples of client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, and 34may include, but are not limited to, a personal computer(s) 28, anotebook computer(s) 30, a smartphone(s) 32, a laptop computer(s) 34,and an application specific device(s) (not shown). The one or moreclient electronic devices 28, 30, 32 and/or 34 may be connected to anetwork 22, wherein the network 22 may be the internet or a local areanetwork. Further, a server monitoring process 10 may reside, in whole orpart, on server computer 20, which may be connected to network 22.

Embodiments of client monitoring process 16 may be configured toleverage smartphone 32 technology (e.g. Global Positioning System (GPS),smartphone audio/visual recordings etc.), and may include one or moredownloadable applications, an application specific device or a physicalwristlet tether 1800, cellular connectivity, and a web based monitoringsystem. Accordingly client monitoring process 16 may monitor anddocument a monitored individuals 48 compliance with court orders (e.g.,abstinence, curfew, protective orders, court appearances, etc.).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, while the client monitoring process 16is depicted in FIG. 1, and throughout the disclosure as residing inwhole or in part on a smartphone 32 this is intended to be forillustrative purposes only. The smartphone 32 may be any mobilecomputing device, wherein the mobile computing device may be a tablet, aphablet, smartwatch, or an application specific device, wherein themobile computing device is capable of executing in whole or part theclient monitoring process 16.

Further, while the client monitoring process 16, and thereby the servermonitor process 10, is depicted in FIG. 1, and throughout the disclosureas being associated with the electronic supervision of high-riskindividuals, and thereby by implication criminal offenders, this isintended to be for illustrative purposes only. The client monitoringprocess 16 may be utilized to monitor 210 any individual 48 thatrequires monitoring 210.

As will be discussed below in greater detail client monitoring process16 may define the monitoring 210 of one or more sensor(s), the enabling220 of a wireless transmitter, the recording 230 of a real-time image,the comparing 240 of the real-time image 710 with a reference image 720,the storing 250 of personally identifiable information, the generating260 of a personal passcode 410, the prompting 270 of the monitoredindividual 48 for the personal passcode 410, the determining 280 ofcompliance with one or more monitored requirements, and theadministration 290 of a reward system.

Referring again to FIG. 2, and now also to FIGS. 4, 5, 7, and 13, thereis shown a flowchart for a method 200 for transmitting a progress report1300 from a client monitoring application 76 to a monitoring application72, wherein the progress report 1300 may be associated with a monitoredindividual 48. In some instances the progress report 1300 may includepersonally identifiable information, wherein the personally identifiableinformation enables the monitored individual 48 to be uniquelyidentified.

In some embodiments, the client monitoring application 76 may beexecuted by client monitoring process 16, and client monitoring process16 may reside on, and may be executed by client device 32, whereinclient device 32 is a smartphone 32. Client monitoring application 76may be a standalone client monitoring application 76. The monitoringapplication 72 may be executed by server monitoring process 10, andserver monitoring process 10 may reside on and may be executed by servercomputer 20. Server computer 20 may be one or more web servers, whereinthe monitoring application 72 may be a web base application.

It should be understood that while method 200 indicates a particularorder of execution of operations, in some instances, certain portions ofthe operations may be performed in a different order, and on differentsystems. Further, in some other instances, additional operations orsteps may be added to method 200. Similarly, some operations or stepsmay be omitted from method 200.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include monitoring 210one or more sensor(s), wherein the one or more sensors are configured tocollect personally identifiable information pertaining to the monitoredindividual 48. The personally identifiable information may includebiometric data and/or location data. For example, the biometric data mayinclude one or more of a DNA analysis, an earlobe geometry analysis, afacial recognition analysis, a fingerprint analysis, a hand geometryanalysis, an eye patterns analysis, a signature analysis and a voicewaveform analysis. For example, the location data may include one moreof Global Positioning System (GPS) data, Wi-Fi access pointidentification information, cell phone tower identification information,wherein the location data is Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS)data. The personally identifiable information pertaining to monitoredindividual 48 may enable the monitored individual 48 and/or his locationto be uniquely identified. The one or more sensor(s) may further includea Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) sensor, wherein the BAC sensor maymeasure the persistence of ethanol in the blood and/or breath of themonitored individual 48.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include enabling 220 awireless transmitter to transmit a progress report 1300 on the monitoredindividual 48. For example, the progress report 1300 may be transmittedfrom the smartphone 32 to monitoring application 72. The progress report1300 may be periodically transmitted, randomly transmitted, transmittedbased upon a sensor output or an alert, transmitted based upon apredefined schedule, or in response to a prompt from the monitoringnetwork 22 and/or 26, or at the initiation of the monitored individual48.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include recording 230 areal-time image 710 of the monitored individual 48. The recording 230may be transmitted in real-time to a monitoring network 22 and/or 26,associated with the monitoring application 72. The client monitoringprocess 16 may utilize one or more camera(s) of the smartphone 32 torecord 230 the real-time image 710 of the monitored individual 48.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include comparing 240with a reference image 720 of the monitored individual 48. The real-timeimage 710 may be used to uniquely identify the monitored individual 48and/or confirm that the monitored individual 48 is performing a requiredtask, for instance a breathalyzer test. In some instances, thecomparison 240 may be done by one or more supervisors 66 and/or thecomparison 240 may be done by one or more software analysis programs.The one or more software analysis programs may be part of the clientmonitoring application 16 and/or part of the monitoring application 72,wherein monitoring application 72 is a web based monitoring application.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include storing 250personally identifiable information. The personally identifiableinformation may be stored 250 locally on the smartphone storage device40. The stored 250 personally identifiable information may be stored 250for future reference and/or later complied into one or more progressreports 1300, and transmitted to the monitoring application 72.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include generating 260 apersonal passcode 410. The personal passcode 410 may be generated 260based, at least in part, upon one or more inputs from the monitoredindividual 48 and/or supervision 66. In some instances, the personalpasscode 410 may be randomly generated 260.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include prompting 270 themonitored individual 48 for the personal passcode 410. The personalpasscode 410 may be required to gain access to the client monitoringapplication 76, and may be used to restrict access to the clientmonitoring application 76, and thereby the monitored individual's 48personally identifiable information.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include determining 280the monitored individual's 48 compliance with one or more monitoredrequirements. As part of the client monitoring process 16 the monitoredindividual 48 may be required to satisfy one or more monitoringrequirements. The monitoring requirements may include but are notlimited to an abstinence requirement, a curfew requirement, a probationrequirement, compliance with a protection order, compliance with a courtorder, compliance with a self-medication requirement, and compliancewith one or more geographical constraints. Further, the monitoringrequirements may include attendance of one or more self-help meetings,attendance at one or more court hearings, attendance at one or moreprobation officer meetings. The monitoring requirements may include, oneor more individual proximity restrains. In some instances, themonitoring requirements may pertain to the smartphone 32. For example,the monitored individual 48 may be required to periodically charge thesmartphone 32 and/or maintain a minimum charge level.

In some embodiments, monitoring process 16 may include administering 290a reward system. For example, compliance with one or more monitoredrequirements by the monitored individual 48 may result in one or more ofthe monitored requirements being modified and/or omitted. In someinstances, compliance with one or more monitored requirements may resultin the duration of the monitoring period 1310 being reduced. Further,the reward system may be configured to penalize the monitored individual48 for non-compliance with one or more monitored requirements. Forexample, the reward system may make the one or more of the monitoredrequirements more stringent, may add additional monitoring requirements,may increase the periodicity of the check-ins 540, and/or may increasethe duration of the monitoring period 1310.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, there is shown an illustrativediagrammatic view of a client monitoring application 76. The clientmonitoring application 76 may have one or more symbols, 310-390, and/oricons associated with it, wherein the one or more symbols, 310-390, mayrepresent the client monitoring application 76, and functionality whichmay be associated with the client monitoring process 16. For example,the client monitoring application 76 may be represented by the symbol310 within a user interface of the smartphone 32. The symbol 310 mayfurther have an alphanumeric character string 315 associated with it.For example, Outreach Smartphone Monitoring “OSM” or “OSM Now”, whereinthe alphanumeric string 315 may be a marketing name.

In some embodiments, functionality associated with the client monitoringprocess 16 may be represented by one or more symbols, 320-390 and/oricons, wherein the symbols 320-390 may act as visual prompts for thatfunctionality. For example, the symbol 320 may be associated with acalendar within the client monitoring application 76, wherein thecalendar includes one or more attendance requirements, for instancecourt appointments and/or probation officer meetings. The symbol 330 maybe associated with the recording 230 of real-time images 710 of themonitored individual 48, which may have been recorded 230 by the clientmonitoring application 76. These real-time images 710 may have beenrecorded 230 for the purpose of uniquely identifying the monitoredindividual 48. The symbol 330 may be used to initiate a recording 230 ofthese real-time images 710. The symbol 340 may be associated with mapsand/or one or more geographical constraints pertaining to the monitoredindividual 48. The symbol 350 may be associated with one or moreprogress reports 1300 pertaining to the monitored individual 48. Thesymbol 360 may be associated with one or more compliance reports and/ore-mail notifications pertaining to the monitored individual 48. Thesymbol 370 may be associated with connectivity. For instance, the clientmonitoring application 76 may be configured to connect to one or moreexternal sensor(s), wherein the one or more external sensor(s) are usedto collect personally identifiable information pertaining to themonitored individual 48. For example, symbol 370 may be used to connectto an external breathalyzer, wherein the external breathalyzer isconfigured to determine the monitored individuals 48 BAC. The symbol 380may be associated with one or more monitoring requirements that themonitored individual 48 must comply with. For example, one or morecourts orders, the attendance at one or more court hearings and/orprobation officer meetings etc. The symbol 390 may be associated withone or more location services and/or resources. For example, one or morehelp lines, and the location of one or more shelters etc.

Referring again to FIG. 4, there is shown a diagrammatic view of aclient monitoring application 76 passcode prompt interface 400. In FIG.4 the passcode prompt interface 400 may permit the monitored individual48 to type in a personal passcode 410 in response to a prompt 270 fromthe client monitoring application 76. The monitored individual 48 maythen enter 420 the personal passcode 410 using a visual representationof an enter key 420. The prompt 270 may be displayed each time themonitored individual 48 accesses the client monitoring application 76,and may be used to restrict access to the client monitoring application76, and thereby the monitored individual's 48 personal information. Theclient monitoring application 76 may include an auto-lock (not shown),wherein access to the client monitoring application 76 requires thepersonal passcode 410 to be reentered 420 after a set period of time haselapsed.

In some embodiments, the monitored individual 48 may be provided withthe personal passcode 410 by a supervisor 66, wherein the supervisor 66may be a probation officer 66 or case manager 66 assigned to supervisethe monitored individual 48. The supervisor 66 may assign the monitoredindividual 48 with a personal passcode 410, wherein the personalpasscode 410 is unique, and specific to each monitored individual 48. Insome instances, the client monitoring application 76 may be configuredto generate the personal passcode 410 based, at least in part, upon oneor more inputs from the supervisor 66. For example, the supervisor 66may use a supervisor passcode to generate the personal passcode 410. Theclient monitoring application 76 may be configured to generate thepersonal passcode 410 randomly. The client monitoring application 76 maybe configured to generate the personal passcode 410 based, at least inpart, one or more inputs from the monitored individual 48, wherein theclient monitoring application 76 may be configured to generate thepersonal passcode 410 based on personally identifiable informationpertaining to the monitored individual 48. For example, the personalpasscode 410 may be based upon, at least in part, the monitoredindividuals 48 social security number 1220 and/or date or birth. In someinstances, the personal passcode 410 may be generated by the monitoringapplication 72, and provided to the monitored individual 48 in one ormore secure correspondences. For example, e-mails, SMSs, registered mailetc. The personal passcode 410 may further function as an electronicsignature 410, wherein the personal passcode 410 may be used by themonitored individual 48 to authenticate and/or adopt the contents of oneor more reports that are transmitted, and/or messages that the monitoredindividual 48 may compose. For example, the monitored individual 48 maybe required to submit a statement explaining non-compliance with one ormore monitored requirements, wherein the monitored individual 48 may berequired to adopt the contents of the statement with an electronicsignature 410.

Referring again to FIG. 5, and now also to FIG. 16, there is shown adiagrammatic view of monitoring application check-in interface 500. Thecheck-in interface 500 may display the monitored individual's 48 name510, address 520 and details pertaining to a check-in 530. The clientmonitoring application 76 may be configured, wherein the address 520corresponds to the monitored individuals 48 current address 520, asdetermine by location data and/or the monitored individuals 48 place ofresidence 520. The client monitoring application 76 may be configured,wherein the displayed check-in 530 may correspond to the last check-in530 or the current check-in 530.

In some embodiments, the monitoring application check-in interface 500may include one or more links 540-580 to other resources. For example,there may be a link 540, wherein the monitored individual 48 mayinitiate a check-in 530. There may be a link 550, wherein the monitoredindividual 48 may access one or more notifications. There may be a link560 wherein the monitored individual 48 may access an appointmentcalendar 1600. There may be a link 570, wherein the monitored individual48 may access one or more resources. There may be a link 580, whereinthe monitored individual 48 may receive a message and/or compose amessage that may be attached to a check-in report. Further, themonitoring application check-in interface 500 may include one or morevisual representations of buttons 580, wherein the monitored individual48 may submit a check-in report 530.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, there is shown a diagrammatic view ofsmartphone monitoring application video check-in prompt interface 600.The client monitoring application 76 may utilize one or more of thesmartphone 32 sensor(s) to collect personally identifiable informationpertaining to the monitored individual 48, wherein the personallyidentifiable information may enable the monitored individual 48 to beuniquely identified. For example, the smartphone 32 may include one ormore camera(s), and the one or more camera(s) may be configured by theclient monitor application 76 to capture a real-time image 710 of themonitored individual 48 The real-time image 710 may be a still image 710and/or a video image 710 of the monitored individual 48. The one or moreimage(s) 710 may be time and/or date stamped. The still image 710 andthe video image 710 may have different resolutions, and may be used fordifferent purposes. For example, the still image 710 may have a higherresolution than the video image 710, and may be used to uniquelyidentify the monitored individual 48. The video image 710 may have alower resolution than the still image 710, and may be used to confirmthat an monitored individual 48 is performing a required task. Forexample, video image 710 may be used to confirm that the monitoredindividual 48 is performing a required task, such as a breathalyzertest, and/or saying an identifiable and distinguishable phrase, such astheir name. In some instances the video image 710 may be used touniquely identify the monitored individual 48.

Referring again to FIG. 6, and now to FIG. 7, the monitored individual48 may be presented with a visual check-in prompt 270 and/or audioprompt 270. For example, a visual prompt 270 may prompt 270 themonitored individual 48 to check-in 540, and may include instructions toperform one or more specific actions. For example, the monitoredindividual 48 may be instructed to record 230 a video of themselvesperforming a specific task, such as saying their name, taking abreathalyzer test etc. The video check-in prompt interface 600 may alsoinclude one or more visual representations of buttons 610 or otherselectable options, wherein the buttons 610 are used by the monitoredindividual 48 to initiate the recording 230.

Referring again to FIG. 7, there is a shown a diagrammatic view of areal-time image 710 of the monitored individual 48 compared 240 to areference image 720 of the monitored individual 48. The reference image720 may be may be stored 250 locally 40 and/or remotely 24 at one ormore storage locations. For instance, the reference image 720 may bestored 250 locally 40, and may be used to prompt 270 the monitoredindividual 48 as to the requirements of the real-time image 710 that isto be recorded 230. For example, the reference image 720 may be a facialportrait, and the may be used to inform the monitored individual 48 ofthe relative size of the real-time image 710 that is to be recorded 230.The reference image 720 may be some of, a generic profile image 720, apreviously recorded 230 and stored 250 profile image 720 of themonitored individual 48, and a generic facial profile silhouette 720.The reference image 720 may be used to align, and resize the real-timeimage 710. For instance, the real-time image 710 may be superimposedupon the reference image 720, and recording 230 of the real-time image710 may automatically begin when the real-time image 710, and thereference image 720 are substantially aligned. Alternatively thereference image 720 may be displayed adjacent to the real-time image710, and used as a visual reference.

In some embodiments, the reference image 720 may enable the monitoredindividual 48 to be uniquely identified. For example, a supervisor 66may compare 240 the real-time image 710 with the reference image 720 forthe purpose of uniquely identifying the monitored individual 48. Thesupervisor 66 may have the option to approve the real-time image 710using the button 730 or reject the real-time image 710 using button 740,wherein the approval may or may not be in real-time. In some instances,the comparison may be may be done by one or more software analysisprograms. The one or more analysis programs may be part of the clientmonitoring process 16 and/or monitoring process 10, wherein monitoringprocess 10 may be a web based monitoring process.

Referring now also to FIG. 8, there is a shown a diagrammatic view of amonitoring application 72 check-in scheduler 800. The supervisor 66 mayuse the check-in scheduler 800 to schedule one or more check-ins 540that the monitored individual 48 is required to complete. For example,monitored individual 48 may be required to periodically check-in 540,check-in 540 at random times, be prompted to check-in 540 based upon asensor output or an alert, check-in 540 in response to a prompt from thesupervisor 66 or combination thereof. The supervisor 66 may use thecheck-in scheduler 800 to specify whether the monitor individual 48 isrequired to check-in during sleep hours, by used of the buttons 810 and820. The supervisor 66 may further define the sleep period through theuse of fields 830 and 840 within the check-in scheduler 800 interface,wherein field 830 is used to define when the sleep period starts, andfield 840 is used to define when the sleep period ends. The supervisor66 may use field 850 to define the number of random check-ins 540 perday that the monitored individual 48 must comply with. Further, thesupervisor 66 may use the field 860 to initiate a in real-time check-in540.

In some embodiments, the check-in scheduler 800 may also include asummary report 870 corresponding to monitored individuals 48 check-ins540. The summary report 870 may include a date field 875, a time field880, a location field 885, and a status field 890, wherein the statusfield 890 indicates whether a check-in 540 was completed or missed bythe monitored individual 48.

Referring now also to FIG. 9, there is a shown a diagrammatic view ofweb based monitoring application summary page 900. The web basedmonitoring application summary page 900 may include web based mappinginformation 910. The mapping information 910 may include some of,satellite imagery, street maps, 360° panoramic views of streets etc. Themonitored individual's 48 individual check-ins 540 locations 920 may bedepicted on the mapping information 910. The monitored individuals 48location 920 may be displayed in real-time. The monitored individuals 48current location 920 may be display in response to the supervisor 66initiating a request via a button 930 to report the monitoredindividuals 48 current location 920, wherein the last know location 920may be displayed if the current location 920 is unavailable.

Referring now also to FIG. 10, there is shown a diagrammatic view of amonitoring application 72 geographical restriction scheduler 1000. Thesupervisor 66 may use the geographical restriction scheduler 1000 todefine one or more geographical restraints that the monitored individual48 may be required to comply with. For instance, the monitoredindividual 48 may be a high risk individual, such as a registered sexoffender, who may be subject one or more geographical restrictions,which may include his place of residence. Further, the monitoredindividual 48 may be restricted from living and/or entering geographicalzones typically associated with children. The supervisor 66 may use thegeographical restriction scheduler 1000 to define what geographicalzones the monitored individual 48 is restricted 1010 from entering,and/or the supervisor 66 may use the geographical restriction scheduler1000 to define the limits of one or more geographical zones that themonitored individual 48 should be confined 1020 to. For example, thesupervisor 66 may define that the monitored individual 48 should besubstantially confined to his place of residence, and his place work,wherein allowance may be made for the monitored individual 48 to commutebetween the two.

In some embodiments, the one or more geographical restrictions 1010and/or 1020 may further vary based on the day and/or time of day. Forexample, the monitored individual 48 may be restricted 1010 fromentering a geographical zone associated with his workplace outside ofnormal business hours. The monitored individual's 48 geographicalrestrictions 1010, 1020 may be synchronized with the monitoredindividual's calendar 1600, wherein the geographical restrictions 1010,1020 may be modified in order that the monitored individual 48 mayattend of one or more self-help meetings, court hearings, probationofficer meetings etc. Other high risk individuals 48, such as domesticabusers 48, may not be allowed within a specified distance of one ormore of the victims place of residence, place of work etc. Other highrisk individuals 48, such as gang members 48, may not be allowed withina specified distance of locations associated know to be associated withgangs. Further, the monitoring application 72 may be tracking aplurality of high risk individuals 48. The monitoring application 72 mayuse this information to ensure that monitored individual 48 do notassociated with other monitored individuals 48.

In some embodiments, an alert (not shown) may further be generated,wherein the alert notifies the supervisor 66 that the monitoredindividual 48 in violation of one or more geographic restrictions 1010,1020, and/or associating with one or more other monitored individuals48. The alert, may be based on the monitored individuals 48 currentlocation, or based on an analysis of the monitored individuals 48projected trajectory, wherein the analysis indicates that the monitoredindividual 48 will be in violation of one or more geographicalrestrictions 1010, 1020 and/or associating with one or more other highrisk monitored individuals 48, at some point in the future.

In some embodiments, the supervisor 66 may further specify the one ormore geographical restrictions 1010, 1020 via a graphical interface1030. For example, the supervisor 66 may use a drop down menu 1040within the graphical interface 1030 to specify whether a geographicalarea 910 is an exclusion area 1010 or inclusion area 1020. Thesupervision 66 may further use a drop down menu 1050 to select ageographical area 910 by type. For example, a victims place ofresidence, schools etc. Furthermore, the supervisor 66 may specify thegeographical area 910 by entering a specific address 1060, and definingit as an restriction 1010 zone or a confinement 1020 zone.

In some embodiments, the supervisor 66 may further specify that themonitored individual 48 is not to be proximate to one or more specificmonitored individuals (not shown) or all other monitored individuals(not shown). The supervisor 66 may use one or more pointers and agraphical display, to define one or more inclusion zones 1020 and/orexclusion zones 1010. For example, the supervisor 66 may define the zoneusing one or more of a mouse, stylist, touch screen etc.

In some embodiments, the monitored individuals 48 current location 910and/or location data 910 may be determined by the client monitoringapplication 76, and transmitted to the monitoring application 72, asdescribed herein. The location data 910 may be obtained from anintegrated Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor (not shown), withinthe smartphone 32. The location data 910 may further be Assisted GlobalPositioning System (A-GPS) data 910, wherein GPS data is supplemented byWi-Fi access point identification information and/or cell phone toweridentification information.

Referring now also to FIGS. 11 and 13, there is shown a diagrammaticview of a web based monitoring application geographical tracking summarypage 1100. The web based monitoring application tracking summary page1100 may include a visual representation of the monitored individuals 48one or more check-ins 540, and monitored locations 910, and therebymonitored routes 910 over a monitoring period 1310.

Referring now also to FIG. 12, there is a shown a diagrammatic view of aweb application compliance report 1200. The compliance report 1200 maybe a detailed report of all of the monitored individual's 48 activityduring a monitoring period 1310. The compliance report 1200 may includethe monitored individual's name 1210, date of birth (not shown), andsocial security number 1220, wherein the social security number 1220 maybe shown in whole or part. The compliance report 1200 may include asummary 1230, wherein the summary 1230 includes the monitoring startdate 1232, and the monitoring stop date 1234, the total number ofcheck-ins 1236, the number of failed check-ins 1238, the total number ofappointments 1240, and the total number of missed appointments 1242.

In some embodiments, the compliance report 1200 may further include moredetailed information 1244 pertaining to each of the failed check-ins1238. For example, there may be six failed check-ins 1238 within themonitoring period 1310, and the detailed information 1244 pertaining toeach of the failed check-ins 1238 may include the date 1246 of eachfailed check-in 1238, the time 1248 of each failed check-in 1238, and ana explanation 1250 for each of the failed check-ins 1238.

In some embodiments, the compliance report 1200 may furthermore includemore detailed information 1260 pertaining to each of the missedappointments 1242. For example, there may be one missed appointment1242, within the monitoring period 1310, and the detailed information1260 pertaining to each of the missed appointments 1242 may include adescription 1262 of the missed appointment 1242 or event 1242, thelocation 1264 of the event 1242, the date 1266 of the event 1242, thetime 1268 of the event 1242 and whether the event 1242 was acknowledged1270 by the monitored individual 48.

In some embodiments, the compliance report 1200 may include one or morenotes 1280 or comments 1280, which the supervisor 66 may have added tothe compliance report 1200. The notes 1280, may include the name 1282 ofthe author of the note 1280, which may be the supervisor 66, the date1284 the comment was added, time 1286 the comment was added, and theactual comments 1288.

In some embodiments, the one or more comments 1288 may include actionsthat the supervisor 66 has initiated, and the monitored individuals 48responses or lack thereof. The supervisor 66 may also include generalcomments 1288 pertaining to the monitored individual 48, within thiscomment field 1288. For example, whether the monitored individual 48 hasmissed check-ins 1268, and when was the last time that the supervisor 66has heard from the monitored individual 48.

Referring again to FIG. 13, there is shown a diagrammatic view of clientmonitoring application 76 progress report 1300. The progress report 1300may include one or more representations of the monitoring period 1310,and an visual indication of where the monitored individual 48 is withinthe monitoring period 1310. For instance, the monitoring duration todate 1320 may be represented by a monitoring duration to date statusbar, wherein the monitoring duration to date status bar may beincrementally shaded as the monitoring duration to date 1320 progresses.There may further be an alphanumeric representation 1330 of themonitoring period 1310, and an alphanumeric representation 1340 of themonitoring duration to date 1320.

In some embodiments, the progress report 1300 may include one or morerepresentations of the total number of incentives points 1340 associatedwith the monitoring period 1310, and an indication of the number ofincentive points acquired within the monitoring period 1310. Forinstance, the total number of incentive points acquired to date 1350,may be represented by a status bar, wherein the total number ofincentive points status bar may be incrementally shaded 1350 asincentive points are acquired.

In some embodiments, the progress report 1300 may include one or morerepresentations of the total number of events 1360 associated with thetotal monitoring duration 1310, and an indication of the number ofevents 1370 attended to date. For instance, the total number of events1360, may be represented by a total number of events status bar 1360,wherein the total number of events status bar 1360 may be incrementallyshaded 1370 as events are attended.

In some embodiments, the progress report 1300 may include one or morerepresentations of the total number of successful check-ins 1380associated with the total monitoring period 1310, and/or the monitoringperiod to date 1320. The progress report 1300 may include one or morerepresentations of the total number of unsuccessful check-ins 1390associated with the total monitoring period 1310, and/or the monitoringperiod to date 1320.

In some embodiments, one or more, colors, symbols and icons may beassociated with the progress report 1300. For instance, a status bar,and/or the incrimination of that status bar, may be associated with oneor more colors. For example, a status bas may be associated with thecolor green, wherein the status bar is progressively shade green as itis incremented. In another example, successful check-ins 1380 may beassociated with the color green, while unsuccessful check-ins 1390 maybe associated with the color red.

Referring now also to FIG. 14, there is a shown a diagrammatic view of aclient monitoring application 76 violation email report 1400. Aviolation email report 1400 may be generated by the client monitoringapplication 76 and/or web monitoring application 72 if it is determinedthat the monitored individual 48 in not in compliance with one or moremonitored requirements. The violation email report 1400 may include asummary 1410 of the specific violation. Further, the violation emailreport 1400 may further include a link 1420 to a web page 1200pertaining to the monitored individual 48, wherein the web page 1200 maybe the compliance report 1200.

In some embodiments, the violation email report 1400 may be sent inreal-time, thereby enabling the supervisor 66 and/or monitoringapplication 72 to be notified of the violation in real-time. In someinstances, the violation report 1400 may be analyzed to determine theseverity of the violation. For example, the supervisor 66 may elect tobe notified outside of regular working hours only of serious violations,wherein the violation report 1400 would otherwise be stored for furtherretrieval. In some embodiments, the monitored individual 48 may have theoption to add comments (not shown) to the violation email report 1400,wherein the comments may clarify why the violation occurred. Forexample, failure to check-in 1390 by the monitored individual 48 becauseof poor cell phone coverage.

Referring now also to FIG. 15, there is a shown a diagrammatic view of asmartphone monitoring application calendar interface 1500. The calendarinterface 1500 may be used to notify the monitored individual 48 of oneor more meetings 1510 that the monitored individual 48 may be requiredto comply with. For example, the monitored individual 48 may be requiredto attend one or more of, self-help meetings, court hearings, probationofficer meeting, drug tests etc. The monitoring application 76 may beconfigured to push notifications 1520 to the monitored individual 48,wherein the push notifications 1520 may be automatically generated bythe client monitoring application 76. The number of push notifications1520 may be configured by the monitored individual 48, his supervisor 66or automatically generated. The number of push notifications 1520associated with each calendar entry may be configured up to a specifiedmaximum. For example, the maximum number of push notifications may beconfigured to be six. In some instances the calendar interface 1500 maybe associated with the monitoring application 72 and/or the clientmonitoring application 76.

Referring again to FIG. 16, there is a shown a diagrammatic view ofclient monitoring application 76 payment interface 1600 or paymentportal 1600. The payment interface 1600 may be used to enter paymentinformation associated with use of the client monitoring application 76by the monitored individual 48. For example, the client monitoringprocess 16 may be provided as a service by a 3^(rd) party, wherein themonitored individual 48 may pay the 3^(rd) party for the privilege ofusing the service, and benefits associated with that service. Thesebenefits may include, but are not limited to, not being tethered to aphysical device, such as an ankle bracelet, which may require themonitored individual 48 to be situated near a wall outlet for prolongedperiods each day to recharge the ankle bracelet.

In some embodiments, the client monitoring process 16 may further beadministered by one or more state and federal administrative agenciesand/or private organizations, and these payments may cover the costsassociated providing the service in whole or part. For example, theremay be costs associated with providing one or more supervisors 66, theserver computer 20, and may further include the cost of providing thesmartphone 32 and/or any associated wireless data plans.

Referring now also to FIG. 17, there is shown a diagrammatic view of aclient monitoring application 76 location and resource interface 1700.The location and resource interface 1700 may be associated with one ormore location services and/or resources. For example, the location andresource interface 1700 may include a link 1710 for a crisis supportcenter, wherein the monitored individual 48 may call the crisis supportcenter using the link 1710. The location and resource interface 1700 mayinclude a link 1720, wherein the monitored individual 48 may call anon-crisis related individual using the link 1720. For example, the link1720 may be associated with a sponsor, wherein the sponsor is a mentorassociated with a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous “AA” and/orthe link 1720 may be associated with the monitored individuals 48supervisor 66. The location and resource interface 1700 may include alink 1730, wherein the monitored individual 48 may locate a shelterusing the link 1730. The location interface and resource interface 1700may include a link 1740, wherein the monitored individual 48 may viewhis progress report 1300. The location and resource interface 1700 mayinclude a link 1750, wherein the monitored individual 48 may redeem oneor more rewards associated with the monitored individual's 48 compliancewith one or more monitored requirements. The location and resourceinterface 1700 may include a link 1760, wherein the monitored individual48 may access additional resources, wherein the additional resource maybe customized by the monitored individual 48 and/or supervisor 66. Insome instances, the one or more links 1710-1760 may be preprogramed, maybe programmed by the monitored individual 48 or may be programmed by thesupervisor 66 or combination thereof.

Referring now also to FIG. 18, there is shown a diagrammatic view of awristlet tether 1800. In some embodiments, the client monitoring process16 may further include a wristlet tether 1800 and/or an ankle tether(not shown). The smartphone 32 may wirelessly couple to the wristlettether 1800 using a short-range wireless connection. The short-rangewireless connection may include one or more proprietary wirelessinterfaces and/or protocols. Other forms of interconnection (e.g., NearField Communication (NFC)) may also be used.

In some embodiments, the wristlet tether 1800 may include a vibrator(not shown), wherein the vibrator may be used to prompt the monitoredindividual 48 to check-in 540. For example, the, monitored individual 48may be required to periodically check-in 540, check-in 540 at randomtimes, be prompted to check-in 540 based upon a sensor output or analert, check-in 540 in response to a prompt from the supervisor 66 orcombination thereof. The monitored individual 48 may be required toperiodically charge the wristlet tether 1800 and/or maintain a minimumcharge level on the wristlet tether 1800, and the vibrator may be usedto prompt the monitored individual 48 to comply with these requirements.The wristlet tether 1800 may include one or more battery statusindicators. For example, one or more Light-emitting diodes (LED) lights1830 may be encapsulated into the wristlet tether 1800, wherein the oneor more LED lights 1830 may indicate the battery status of the wristlettether 1800.

In some embodiments, the wristlet tether 1800, may include one or moresensor(s) (not shown), wherein the one or more sensor(s) include a BloodAlcohol Concentration (BAC) sensor (not shown). In some instances theBAC sensor may be Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) sensor. The wristlettether 1800 may further include a body temperature sensor (not shown),wherein the body temperature sensor may be used with the NIRS sensor todetermine the monitored individuals 48 BAC.

In some embodiments, the one or more sensor(s) may include one or morebiometric sensor(s), wherein the biometric sensor(s) are configured tocollect personally identifiable information, wherein the personallyidentifiable information pertains to a monitored individual 48, andenables the monitored individual 48 to be uniquely identified. Thepersonally identifiable information may include location information,and the one or more sensor(s) may include a GPS sensor. The one or moresensor(s) may include one or more biosensor(s), wherein the biosensor isan analytical device, used for the detection of one or morephysicochemical and/or biological components and/or substances.

In some embodiments, the one or more of the sensor(s) may be configuredto detect legal and/or illegal use of one or more substances by themonitored individual 48. For example, the one or more sensor(s) may beconfigured to detect whether the monitored individual 48 is taking anillegal substance, such as cocaine. The one or more sensor(s) may beconfigured to detect whether the monitored 48 it taking a legalsubstance, such as prescription and/or non-prescription drugs. Forexample, the one or more sensor(s) may be configured to determinewhether the monitored individual 48 is taking a legal substance, andthereby in compliance with a self-medication requirement, whereincompliance with a self-medication program is a requirement of a mentalhealth wellbeing program. The one or more sensor(s), and/or smartphone32 usage analysis, may be configured to detect physiological and/orbehavioral characteristics of the monitored individual 48, and therebychanges in behavioral patterns. These physiological and/or behavioralcharacteristics may be used to determine the physiological wellbeing ofthe monitored individual 48. For example, whether the monitoredindividual 48 is suffering from depression, mood swings, anxiety, and/orone or more behavioral changes. The one or more sensor(s) may includeone or more health, medical and/or fitness sensors. For example, one ormore sensor(s) may be configured to monitor one or more of, pulse, bloodpressure, body temperature, blood oxygen, galvanic skin response,calories, movement and activity etc., which the monitored individual 48may be required to be in compliance with as part of the clientmonitoring process 16. The one or more sensor(s) may include one or moreproprietary sensor(s). While, the one or more sensor(s) have beendepicted as residing in whole or part on the wristlet tether 1800 thisis intended to be for illustrative purposes only. The one or moresensor(s) may reside in whole or part on the smartphone 32.

In some embodiments, the wristlet tether 1800 may include a fiber opticcircuit band and/or a fiber optic circuit board (not shown). Theelectronics and/or sensor(s) of the wristlet tether 1800 may beassociated with the fiber optic circuit board, and the fiber opticcircuit board may in whole or part be PCBA (Printed Circuit BoardAssembly). The electronics and/or sensor(s) of the wristlet tether 1800may further be encapsulated in an enclosure 1810, wherein the enclosure1810 is waterproof and/or shockproof. A waterproof enclosure 1810 mayenable the wristlet tether 1800 to be fully and/or partly immersed inwater, wherein the monitored individual 48 may engage in activities suchas swimming and/or taking a shower or bath, without having to remove thewristlet tether 1800 to prevent damage. A shockproof enclosure 1810 mayenable the wristlet tether 1800 to be worn by the monitored individual48 while engaged in physical activities such as sports, without havingto remove the wristlet tether 1800 to prevent damage. The enclosure 1810may be configured to be couple to the monitored individual 48 by one ormore fasteners 1820, wherein the one or more fasteners 1820 aretamper-proof. The tamper-proof fasteners 1820 may allow the supervisor66 to determine if the monitored individual 48 has remove or attemptedto remove the wristlet tether 1800.

Referring once more to FIG. 1, a monitoring process may be coupled to acomputer or computer network. For example, server monitoring process 10may reside on and may be executed by server computer 20, which may beconnected to network 22 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).Examples of server computer 20 may include, but are not limited to: apersonal computer, a server computer, a series of server computers, amini computer, and/or a mainframe computer. Server computer 20 may be aweb server (or a series of servers) running a network operating system,examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft® WindowsServer®; Novell® Netware®; or Red Hat® Linux®, for example. (Microsoftand Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in theUnited States, other countries or both; Novell and NetWare areregistered trademarks of Novell Corporation in the United States, othercountries or both; Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red HatCorporation in the United States, other countries or both; and Linux isa registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, othercountries or both.)

The instruction sets and subroutines of server monitoring process 10,which may be stored on storage device 24 coupled to server computer 20,may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or morememory architectures (not shown) incorporated into server computer 20.Storage device 24 may include but is not limited to: a hard disk drive;a flash drive, a tape drive; an optical drive; a RAID array; a randomaccess memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM); and a Flash memory.

Server computer 20 may execute a web server application, examples ofwhich may include but are not limited to: Microsoft® IIS, Novell® WebServer™, or Apache® Tomcat®, that allows for access to server computer20 (via network 22) using one or more protocols, examples of which mayinclude but are not limited to HTTP (i.e., HyperText Transfer Protocol),SIP (i.e., session initiation protocol), and the Lotus® Sametime® VPprotocol. (Webserver is a trademark of Novell Corporation in the UnitedStates, other countries, or both; Apache and Tomcat are registeredtrademarks of Apache Software Foundation in the United States, othercountries, or both; Lotus and Sametime are registered trademarks ofInternational Business Machine Corporation in the United States othercountries, or both). Network 22 may be connected to one or moresecondary networks (e.g., network 26), examples of which may include butare not limited to: a local area network; a wide area network; or anintranet, for example.

In addition/as an alternative to server monitoring process 10, one ormore client monitoring processes (e.g., client monitoring processes 12,14, 16, 18) may reside on and may be executed by one or more clientelectronic devices (e.g., client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, and/or34, respectively). Accordingly, in some embodiments, the monitoringprocess may be a server-side process, in which all of the functionalitymay be performed on server computer 20. Further, the monitoring processmay be a client-side process, in which all of the functionally may beperformed on a client electronic device. In still further embodiments,the monitoring process may include a hybrid server-client process, inwhich at least some of the functionality may be performed by a serverdevice and at least some of the functionality may be performed by aclient device.

Examples of client electronic devices may include but are not limited topersonal computer 28, laptop computer 30, a smartphone 32, notebookcomputer 34, personal digital assistant (not shown), and an applicationspecific device, such as an ankle bracelet (not shown), a tablet (notshown), a server (not shown), a television (not shown), a smarttelevision (not shown), a media (e.g., video, photo, etc.) capturingdevice (not shown), and a dedicated network device (not shown). Clientelectronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 may each be coupled to network 22and/or network 26 and may each execute an operating system, examples ofwhich may include but are not limited to Android™, Apple® iOS®, Mac® OSX®; Microsoft® Windows®, Microsoft Windows CEO, Red Hat® Linux®, or acustom operating system. (Android is a registered trademark of GoogleInc.; Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of MicrosoftCorporation in the United States, other countries or both; Apple iOS,Mac and OS X are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the UnitedStates, other countries or both; Red Hat is a registered trademark ofRed Hat Corporation in the United States, other countries or both; andLinux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States,other countries or both).

The instruction sets and subroutines of client monitoring processes 12,14, 16, 18, which may be stored on storage devices 36, 38, 40, and 42(respectively) coupled to client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, and 34(respectively), may be executed by one or more processors (not shown)and one or more memory architectures (not shown) incorporated intoclient electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 (respectively). Storage devices36, 38, 40, and 42 may include but are not limited to: a hard diskdrive; a solid state drive (SSD); a flash drive, a tape drive; anoptical drive; a RAID array; a random access memory (RAM); a read-onlymemory (ROM); an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM); and aFlash memory.

Users 44, 46, 48, and 50 (also variously referred to as “monitoredindividuals,” “monitors” 66, “administrators” 66 or “supervisors” 66)may access a monitor process in various ways. For example, one or moreof these users may access server monitor process 10 directly through thedevice on which a client process (e.g., client monitoring processes 12,14, 16, 18) is executed, namely client electronic devices 28, 30, 32,34. Users 44, 46, 48, 50 may access server monitor process 10 directlythrough network 22 and/or through secondary network 26. Further, servercomputer 20 (i.e., the computer that executes server monitor process 10)may be connected to network 22 through secondary network 26, asillustrated with phantom link line 52. Users 44, 46, 48, 50 may alsoaccess a monitoring application in similar ways. Monitoring process 10may include one or more user interfaces, such as browsers and textual orgraphical user interfaces, through which users 44, 46, 48, 50 may accessmonitoring process 10.

The various client electronic devices may be directly or indirectlycoupled to network 22 (or network 26). For example, personal computer 28is shown directly coupled to network 22 via a hardwired networkconnection. Further, notebook computer 34 is shown directly coupled tonetwork 26 via a hardwired network connection. Laptop computer 30 isshown wirelessly coupled to network 22 via wireless communicationchannel 54 established between laptop computer 30 and wireless accesspoint (i.e., WAP) 56, which is shown directly coupled to network 22. WAP56 may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth device that is capable of establishing wirelesscommunication channel 54 between laptop computer 30 and WAP 56.Smartphone 32 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 22 via wirelesscommunication channel 58 established between smartphone 32 and cellularnetwork/bridge 60, which is shown directly coupled to network 22.

Some or all of the IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocoland carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e.,CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications may usephase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary code keying(i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. Bluetooth™ is a telecommunicationsindustry specification that allows, e.g., mobile phones, computers,smartphones, and other electronic devices to be interconnected using ashort-range wireless connection. The short-range wireless connection mayinclude one or more proprietary wireless interfaces and/or protocols.Other forms of interconnection (e.g., Near Field Communication (NFC))may also be used.

For the enclosed discussion, client monitoring process 16 has beendescribed for illustrative purposes. It will be understood that clientmonitoring process 16 may, for example, interact and/or communicate withserver monitor process 10 and/or may be executed within one or moreapplications that allow for communication with other server and/orclient monitor processes. This is not intended to be a limitation ofthis disclosure, as other configurations are possible (e.g., smartphonemonitor process 16 may include stand-alone client processes and/orstand-alone server processes.) For example, some embodiments may includeone or more of client monitor processes 12, 14, 18 or server monitorprocess 10 in place of or in addition to client monitoring application76.

Computer 20 may include a data store, such as a database (e.g.,relational database, object-oriented database, triplestore database,etc.) and may be located within any suitable memory location, such asstorage device 24 coupled to computer 20. Any data described throughoutthe present disclosure may be stored in the data store. In someembodiments, computer 20 may utilize a database management system suchas, but not limited to, “My Structured Query Language” (MySQL®) in orderto provide multi-user access to one or more databases, such as the abovenoted relational database. The data store may also be a custom database,such as, for example, a flat file database or an XML database. Any otherform(s) of a data storage structure and/or organization may also beused. Monitor process 10 may be a component of the data store, astand-alone application that interfaces with the above noted data storeand/or an applet/application that is accessed via client applications22, 24, 26, and 28. The above noted data store may be, in whole or inpart, distributed in a cloud computing topology. In this way, computer20 and storage device 24 may refer to multiple devices, which may alsobe distributed throughout the network.

Computer 20 may execute a monitoring application (e.g., monitoringapplication 72). Monitor process 10 and/or monitor application 72 may beaccessed via client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78. Monitor process 10may be a standalone application, or may be anapplet/application/script/extension that may interact with and/or beexecuted within monitor application 72, a component of monitorapplication 72, and/or one or more of client applications 70, 74, 76,and 78. Monitor application 72 may be a standalone application, or maybe an applet/application/script/extension that may interact with and/orbe executed within monitor process 10, a component of monitor process10, and/or one or more of client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78. One ormore of client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78 may be a standaloneapplication, or may be an applet/ application/script/extension that mayinteract with and/or be executed within and/or be a component of monitorprocess 10 and/or monitor application 72. The instruction sets andsubroutines of client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78, which may bestored on storage devices 36, 38, 40, 42, coupled to client electronicdevices 28, 30, 32, and 34 may be executed by one or more processors(not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown)incorporated into client electronic devices 28, 20, 32, and 34.

One or more of client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78 may be configuredto effectuate some or all of the functionality of motoring application20 (and vice versa). Accordingly, monitoring application 20 may be apurely server-side application, a purely client-side application, or ahybrid server-side/client-side application that is cooperativelyexecuted by one or more of client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78 and/ormonitoring application 20. As one or more of client applications 70, 74,76, and 78, monitoring process 10, and monitoring application 20, takensingly or in any combination, may effectuate some or all of the samefunctionality, any description of effectuating such functionality viaone or more of client applications 70, 74, 76, and 78, monitoringprocess 10, monitoring application 20, or combination thereof, and anydescribed interaction(s) between one or more of client applications 70,74, 76, and 78, monitoring process 10, monitoring application 20, orcombination thereof to effectuate such functionality, should be taken asan example only and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of acomputer program product implemented in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical drive,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present disclosure are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in anon-transient computer readable medium that can direct a computer, otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computerreadable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructionswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible embodiments ofsystems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative embodiments, the functions noted in the blockmay occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocksshown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application indetail and by reference to embodiment(s) thereof, it will be apparentthat modifications, variations, and any combinations of embodiment(s)(including any modifications, variations, and combinations thereof) arepossible without departing from the scope of the disclosure defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A monitoring method comprising: monitoring one ormore sensor(s) associated with a device, wherein the one or moresensor(s) are configured to collect personally identifiable information,wherein the personally identifiable information pertains to a monitoredindividual and enables the monitored individual to be uniquelyidentified, wherein the one or more sensor(s) includes a Blood AlcoholConcentration (BAC) sensor; determining, based upon monitoring the oneor more sensor(s) associated with the wearable biometric device, themonitored individual's compliance with three or more monitoredrequirements, wherein the monitored requirements include one or more ofan abstinence requirement, a curfew requirement, a probationrequirement, compliance with a protection order, compliance with a courtorder, compliance with a self-medication requirement, compliance withone or more geographical constraints, attendance of one or moreself-help meetings, attendance at one or more court hearings, attendanceat one or more probation officer meetings, a requirement of monitoring asmartphone, and one or more individual proximity restraints; andenabling a wireless transmitter to transmit the monitored individual'scompliance.
 2. The monitoring method of claim 1 wherein the personallyidentifiable information includes biometric data, wherein the biometricdata includes one or more of a DNA analysis, an earlobe geometryanalysis, a facial recognition analysis, a fingerprint analysis, a handgeometry analysis, an eye patterns analysis, a signature analysis and avoice waveform analysis.
 3. The monitoring method of claim 1 wherein theone or more sensor(s) include a camera, wherein the camera is configuredto capture a real-time image of the monitored individual, wherein thereal-time image is personally identifiable information.
 4. Themonitoring method of claim 1 further comprising: comparing the real-timeimage of the monitored individual with a reference image of themonitored individual; recording the real-time image of the monitoredindividual; and storing personally identifiable information.
 5. Themonitoring method of claim 1 wherein the progress report on themonitored individual is periodically transmitted, randomly transmitted,transmitted based upon a sensor output or an alert, transmitted basedupon a predefined schedule, transmitting in response to a prompt from amonitoring network, or at the initiation of the monitored individual. 6.The monitoring method of claim 1 further comprising: generating apersonal passcode; and prompting the monitored individual for thepersonal passcode.
 7. The monitoring method of claim 1 furthercomprising: administering a reward system, wherein the reward system isconfigured to modify one or more reporting requirements by the monitoredindividual.
 8. A monitoring method comprising: monitoring one or moresensor(s) associated with a biometric device, wherein the one or moresensor(s) are configured to collect personally identifiable information,wherein the personally identifiable information pertains to a monitoredindividual and enables the monitored individual to be uniquelyidentified, wherein the one or more sensor(s) includes a Blood AlcoholConcentration (BAC) sensor; determining, based upon monitoring the oneor more sensor(s) associated with the wearable biometric device, themonitored individual's compliance with attendance at one or more courthearings; and enabling a wireless transmitter to transmit the monitoredindividual's compliance.
 9. The monitoring method of claim 8 wherein thelocation data includes one or more of Global Positioning System (GPS)data, Wi-Fi access point identification information, cell phone toweridentification information, wherein the location data is Assisted GlobalPositioning System (A-GPS) data.
 10. The monitoring method of claim 8wherein the one or more sensor(s) include a camera, wherein the camerais configured to capture a real-time image of the monitored individual,wherein the real-time image is personally identifiable information. 11.The monitoring method of claim 8 further comprising: comparing thereal-time image of the monitored individual with a reference image ofthe monitored individual; recording the real-time image of the monitoredindividual; and storing personally identifiable information.
 12. Themonitoring method of claim 8 wherein the progress report on themonitored individual is periodically transmitted, randomly transmitted,transmitted based upon a sensor output or an alert, transmitted basedupon a predefined schedule, transmitted in response to a prompt from amonitoring network or at the initiation of the monitored individual. 13.The monitoring method of claim 8 further comprising: generating apersonal passcode; and prompting the monitored individual for thepersonal passcode.
 14. The monitoring method of claim 8 furthercomprising: administering a reward system, wherein the reward system isconfigured to modify one or more reporting requirements by the monitoredindividual.
 15. A monitoring system comprising: at least one processorassociated with a server device; and at least one memory architecturecoupled with the at least one processor device; wherein the serverdevice receives monitored data from a client device, wherein the clientdevice receives personally identifiable information from one or moresensors associated with a biometric device, wherein the personallyidentifiable information pertains to a monitored individual and enablesthe monitored individual to be uniquely identified and wherein theserver device receives, from a wireless transmitter, monitored datapertaining to the monitored individual, wherein the server devicedetermines the monitored individual's compliance with three or moremonitored requirements, wherein the monitored requirements include oneor more of an abstinence requirement, a curfew requirement, a probationrequirement, compliance with a protection order, compliance with a courtorder, compliance with a self-medication requirement, compliance withone or more geographical constraints, attendance of one or moreself-help meetings, attendance at one or more court hearings, attendanceat one or more probation officer meetings, a requirement of monitoring asmartphone, and one or more individual proximity restraints.
 16. Themonitoring system of claim 15 wherein the personally identifiableinformation includes biometric data, wherein the biometric data includesone or more of a DNA analysis, an earlobe geometry analysis, a facialrecognition analysis, a fingerprint analysis, a hand geometry analysis,an eye patterns analysis, a signature analysis and a voice waveformanalysis, wherein the personally identifiable information includeslocation data, wherein the location data includes one or more of GlobalPositioning System (GPS) data, Wi-Fi access point identificationinformation, cell phone tower identification information, wherein thelocation data is Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) data. 17.The monitoring system of claim 15 wherein the one or more sensor(s)includes a camera, wherein the camera is configured to capture areal-time image of the monitored individual, wherein the real-time imageis personally identifiable information.
 18. The monitoring system ofclaim 15 further comprising: a third software module executed by the atleast one processor and the at least one memory architecture, whereinthe third software module is configured to compare the real-time imageof the monitored individual with a reference image of the monitoredindividual; a fourth software module executed by the at least oneprocessor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the fourthsoftware module is configured to record the real-time image of themonitored individual; a fifth software module executed by the at leastone processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein thefifth software module is configured to store personally identifiableinformation; and a sixth software module executed by the at least oneprocessor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the sixthsoftware module is configured to determine the monitored individual'scompliance with one or more monitored requirements, wherein themonitored requirements include one or more of an abstinence requirement,a curfew requirement, a probation requirement, compliance with aprotection order, compliance, with a court order, compliance with aself-medication requirement, compliance with one or more geographicalconstraints, attendance of one or more self-help meetings, attendance atone or more court hearings, attendance at one or more probation officermeetings, and one or more individual proximity restrains.
 19. Themonitoring system of claim 15 further comprising: a wristlet tether,wherein the wristlet tether includes a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)sensor and a body temperature sensor, wherein the BAC sensor is aNear-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) sensor.
 20. The monitoring system ofclaim 15 further comprising: a wristlet tether, wherein the wristlettether include a biosensor.